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Danforth Plant Science Center Hosts 14th Annual Fall Symposium

Tuesday, 04 September 2012

ST. LOUIS, MO, September 4, 2012 – The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will be hosting its 14th annual Fall Symposium from Wednesday, September 26th – Friday, September 28th, 2012. This year’s symposium will feature lectures by influential experts from across the world who will present on a wide range of topics on cutting-edge science. This year’s theme will focus on synthetic and systems level explorations in biology that are establishing fundamental emergent properties of complex biological systems.

“The annual symposium is an opportunity for a diverse group of scientists from private research, industry and universities to interact and learn from state-of-the-art talks on focused topics within biology,” said Doug Allen, USDA Research Scientist, Assistant Member, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center who is organizing this year’s event. “This is another example of how the Center works to enhance science in the St. Louis region.”

Systems biology uses quantitative experimental approaches and computational modeling to understand how a multitude of components work together as a system to enable living systems to function. In addition, synthetic biology extends this understanding by redesigning and manipulating the capabilities of a biological system to achieve new and different goals. The Center’s symposium will explore how systems and synthetic biology are complementary and facilitate the engineering of living systems with new functions and properties.

“The three day symposium breaks into four concentrated sessions with multiple speakers discussing gene networks, rewiring, metabolism, and genomes evolution” said Dr. Todd Mockler, the Geraldine and Robert Virgil Distinguished Investigator at the Danforth Center and Symposium organizer. “The themed sessions give attendees a variety of comprehensive lectures relating to synthetic and systems biology.”

Registration will remain open until September 19th, 2012. The registration fee includes access to all sessions, social events, breaks and meals as indicated in the program. For a list of the esteemed speakers and topics please visit http://www.danforthcenter.org/fall_symposium/speakers.asp.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science CenterFounded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its website, www.danforthcenter.org; featuring interactive information on the Center’s research, scientists, news and public education outreach. RSS feeds and the brand new “Roots & Shoots” blog allow visitors to keep up to date with Center’s current operations and areas of research.